Synopsis: Grammy-winning superstar Rick Springfield makes his big screen debut
in this sizzling rock and roll romance featuring seven brand new Springfield songs,
including his latest smash, "Love Somebody," along with songs by Peter
Gabriel,
Graham Parker, and Nona Hendryx. Jamie Roberts (Springfield) is the hottest star in
town. Diana Lawson (Eibler) works with children and only has ears for Tony
Bennett. When Jamie falls for Diana, he finds that music isn't always the food of
love - especially when it comes with groupies and a jealous ex-girlfriend (Hansen).
With a true-to-life screenplay by Flashdance's Tom Hedley and nonstop score by
today's chart-topping artists, Hard to Hold is the one for music fans to grab! (taken
from the back cover of the VHS movie Hard to Hold)

One "towel" scene is simply NOT enough.
Click above for more.

Critic Review:

Hard to Holdwas designed to promote pop singer Rick Springfield as a viable screen
personality. That it falls short is not necessarily the fault of Springfield, who does his
best with the tools at hand. The star is appropriately cast as an immensely successful
recording artist named James Roberts. As a result of a fender-bender accident, Roberts
meets and falls in love with child psychologist Diana Lawson (Janet Eilber), who is not
the least bit impressed with James' wealth or fame. He spends the rest of the picture
following (but not stalking, mind you) Diana all over San Francisco, much to the
discomfort of his lovelorn writing partner Nicky Nides (Patti Hanson). Naturally, the two
protagonists finally come together, and though the first part of the film contains enough
humor and warmth to be entertaining, the film quickly spirals into melodrama during the
second half. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to US

I had this movie's release date
starred, circled, highlighted, etc. on my family's calendar the day I
knew it was coming out. (Strangely enough, right around this time-early
April...) I by no means live in a rinky-dink suburb either, but when it
finally made the papers of where it was showing, the closest theatre was
1/2 hour from my house. Not being able to drive yet, and being my
parent's oldest child - I had to be on my best behavior and beg my
parents to drive me and my friends to see it the Friday night it came
out. They agreed to the drop & shop (they drop us
off, go shopping and come back
to pick up later) after much nagging on my part.

THE DAY arrives - I go to school decked out in my finest Rick
"garb". I used to have (well, okay I still do) this jean
jacket that I had pinned on every Rick pin manufactured (and some
homemade) which I wore everywhere. Between that and my concert t-shirt,
there was no mistaking I was a Rick fan! Go to
the theatre that evening, it is PACKED with Rick fans. We are so late
getting in that we miss the previews, and walk into the theatre right at
the moment Rick is bursting through the door in the first scene. I could
have stood there right in the aisle and watched the whole flick like
that, I was so taken away with Rick on the big screen. Find seats...and
proceed to hoot & holler through the "nekkid" butt scene.
I have to admit, this is one of my favorite scenes in the movie, only
because I love the grin on his face when he realizes the door is locked,
and he does his "awe shit".... then he shows us that fabulous
grin again when he has eluded the mob on the stairs. I have been known
to pause the movie at this point just to see that grin peeking out from
the wall.

Another favorite line which my friends and I quoted repeatedly that year
at school was, "Who do you think you're dealing with, some kind of
bimbo? Oh, you got it bimbo!". I must admit to a 15 year old, this
is quite awesome script writing. To the 32 year old I am now, I shudder
at some of the dialogue. Again another favorite scene - the slow
scrolling of "the butt"! while Rick is lying there
in the bed. Who didn't have fantasies of this man after that one????

I too was very disappointed of the choice of Janet Eilber as the lead.
To the teenage me - she was ancient! Again, to the 32 year old me - she
was ancient! I found it highly unlikely that someone of Rick's caliber
would find her attractive. This is the only casting problem I have with
the movie - Patti Hansen was great - the guys in the band were great -
Owen (the Dana clone) was excellent..."it's not all tits &
champagne". Casserole! I loved that man giving up
his pants for Rick. I named a future hamster after that character.

I agree with the other reviewers so far also on the most favorite scene
- outside the hotel after Jamie has chased Diana (why, I'm thinking -
just let her go! I'm available) and she tells him she doesn't want his
autograph, she wants him. And he says in that incredibly sexy voice -
"you've got me. Know what else you've got, a wet butt!"
Classic. Touching & funny, my kind of man.

The teenage me really, really, really...liked the movie (sorry, I think
I've watched this movie too damn much!). It was totally what I expected
at the time it came out, nothing more. I strangely enough did not enjoy
the concert scenes too much, but I think that resulted in watching too
many behind the
scenes specials on the making of Hard to Hold-so my subconscious knew
this was a Jefferson Starship audience; not fair that they weren't
really Rick fans. I had been to a couple of Rick shows by then also, and
I just knew that that wasn't totally his stage presence, even then.
(which is nothing like what it is now!)

The adult me still really, really, really...likes the movie. I watch it
with my kids now, and they snicker through the "nekkid" butt
scene. I never thought back then sitting there in the movie theatre (and
I did go back and see it again a few more times before it's run
ended...and then A LOT more times when it hit the dollar show - but I
never kept count) that someday I would still be a Rick fan exposing my
kids to what I think is the best musician of "my time". I
never expected an Oscar performance out of Rick for this movie (or any
other really) because I think a part of me just wants him to be a better
singer/songwriter than actor. Ok, enough Freud for now.

Strangely enough, when this movie came out on video - the preview before
it, Olivia Newton-John's Xanadu - was like the movie I lived by before
Hard to Hold. My family knew of this obsession (ok at 13 I was really
into roller-skating and wanted to BE Olivia) and Xanadu held the record
for the movie I had seen the most times before Hard to Hold came out.
(and I'm not sharing that number with you, I can't believe I am even
sharing this much!) So when I popped the tape in (after spending $89.99
of my hard earned money from my after school job because I had to OWN
the damn thing) and the preview from Xanadu came on - the hair on my
arms literally stood on end. I don't know what this means, or why I had
to share it... - Michelle P.

I actually got to see this
movie the night before it hit theaters as the radio station where I
lived did a sneak preview. One way to win tickets was to go to
Arby's and unscramble some phrases. I don't remember what they were,
but I have a feeling they were Rick related. I knew I wasn't leaving
that Arby's until I had it figured out. It really didn't take that
long. Then later, the radio station was giving away tickets and they
had asked who Noah was with when he left General Hospital. This is
somewhat of a tricky question because Dr. Drake couldn't make up his
mind, but the answer they were looking for was "Tiffany"
and everyone else kept saying Bobbie, so I won another pair.

So after much anticipation, Thursday arrives and it's time for the
movie. The radio station did some raffles giving away some Hard To
Hold promo stuff, but I didn't manage to win any of that.

The movie starts....

I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed by how much Rick was
showing off his naked butt. I'm like, "okay, enough
already." I really did like the movie. I went and saw it the
next night, and then on Saturday, and I'm not sure how many more
times I saw it after that before it was pulled. I've probably only
watched it around 10 times total. It wasn't until I watched it after
about a 10 year break that I realized how badly the movie was
edited. I think that originally, I was so focused on watching Rick
in the movie and his performance, that I really never saw the movie
as a whole, so after some time went by and I watched it again, I was
able to see it more from a distance.
My feeling now is that the movie was OK, it would have been better
if it had been edited right. I think Rick's performance was really
good. - rlh

I am thrilled to have a copy of this movie on DVD. I absolutely love Rick in this movie now as much as I did then. I watched it countless times! And I continue to watch it even now. It brings back wonderful memories for me.

Despite the fact that Jamie's love interest had to be Dianna, it was a pretty good story I thought. I know this type of story has been told over & over, but hey....it's Rick in this one :-) I think he had better chemistry with Nicky. One of my favorite scenes is when he comes back from being turned down by Dianna & he's playing pool with Nicky. He says, "HEY! You're cheating..." and she replies, "I'm not cheating," & then she puts the move on him over the table. I also love when he's at Dianna's, lying with that naked butt in her bed, and he says, "we just made love." She
flies back with, "No we didn't. We just had sex!" That is such a comical scene in my opinion. Major role reversal there! Normally it would be the rock star who gives the lover the boot!

Rick's acting was just great in this movie. Well, I've yet to see a movie in which his acting is NOT great :-) The man is just a natural. He steals every scene with his presence, and there's quite a bit of humor written up for him too. I also love the little conversation/accusation about him having herpes. What a hoot! And then how it's carried over to the discussion with Dianna's father. LOL!

Another great scene is the angry (at least to begin with) breakup of he & Nicky. When I saw this movie again recently, and saw Rick/Jamie smashing the guitar, I then wondered...."hmmm...is it possible that he smashed that guitar for the role & thought it felt pretty good?" Maybe that's part of why he does it on stage now. He may have liked the feeling of getting out the angst! Just a thought, since I don't recall him smashing any in the 80's.

The music is superb in H2H! (yes of course....Rick wrote nearly all of it) And I love the stage performance scenes most of all. Even though it's a common storyline for so many movies before it & after, I still like it: 2 totally different people from different worlds fall in love, they resist that love (or at least one of them does, because it will "never work"), they are scared to take that chance (Dianna: "I'll cross that bridge when...." & Jamie: "what, when it collapses?"), they decide to part ways (reluctantly) & finally....the lovers realize they must take a chance on love (you only get one spin at "real" love..."Love Somebody!"). So they suddenly run back in search of each other, and find one another just in time....before she
flies away on the plane. Like I said, it's a pretty common theme, but it's a fairy-tale story that I'm a real sucker for. It speaks a lot of truth. Two different people really can find love & happiness if they are willing to take risks.

Rick was amazingly hot in this film I thought. Even his hairstyle doesn't seem to 80ish to me when I see it now. (but those pink sports coats HAD to go.....UGH!) I like the black leather personally, or let's say the jeans & no shirt look :-) Other than those light pink jackets....his wardrobe was great. I can tell that he really poured himself into this story & tried to create some fun with it.

Now---if we could just get another Rick S. motion picture in the near future...that would really rock!
- Kelley Pearson

I know I've already submitted a review of this
awesome movie, and that mostly dealt with my memories of seeing it
as a teen in the movie theatre when it was released, and then again
on video. However, with the momentous occasion of it FINALLY being
released on DVD, well I found that this was reason to 1) review this
movie again once more -too much Rick can't possibly be a bad thing
2) really pick the movie apart now that I can watch it frame by
frame.
I'm known in the MI circles as the queen of the freeze frame-not
something I'm proud of mind you, it just slipped out once at a
gathering, and once it left my mouth I realized I had crossed a line
I really only crossed before in my head.

Since all of you by now (better) know the plot of the movie, I will
skip trying to summarize the story and get right down to the
nitty-gritty.

Therefore, let's begin with the starting - the crowd chanting
"Jamie, Jamie". My stereo surround DVD player plays this
as Jamie! <from the right> then Jamie! <from the left>.
Nice to know this crowd was doing the James Roberts version of
"Tastes Great, Less Filling". :-) "Stand Up"
sounds awesome, however..and it's always a thrill to get the whole
version of that song nowadays, so nothing wrong there. Notice tho,
that Rick's hair was drenched with sweat when he was backstage right
before performing this song, however back up on the stage just the
back end of his hair is wet. Then...backstage again his head is
soaked.

Ok, on thru the shower and running with towel scenes. No flubs here,
just a good time to pause and watch frame by frame. It is me, or
does the back of Rick's shoulder look especially naked without the
tattoo? Nevermind.

Next, the car accident scene. This scene always bugged me for
several reasons, going way back to when I first saw this in the
theatre. Yeah, Rick looks like he's about to run the red light
because he's drying his hair with the towel. However, Diana has the
green light and is turning - and in the middle of the turn (!) stops
and honks at him -and he hasn't even reached the intersection yet.
Then the cars hit. To me, it looks like the accident is her fault,
not his-she didn't complete her turn. Also, what is UP with a guy
selling flowers out of a cart IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT? We know
it's after a show, so it's gotta be what, like close to midnight at
least -which is also evident by how few people are on the street
-who also just walk by the cars and look, and keep on walking. Bad,
bad scene. She is not very beautiful, and if he's troubled -well
then I want some of that trouble...

Onto the next scene. It was obvious that Jamie & Diana did not
trade personal information at the accident, he told her who HE was
and where he was staying. So how did Casserole know where she lived?
Then, when Casserole comes back and says she turned him down, he's
holding a basket of yellow roses, when the roses he had standing at
the door were red & pink. Then Owen explains who she is. Huh?
Obviously Owen was Jamie's personal assistant as well as manager.
And when does a manager hang out with his client, like ALL the time?
Doesn't he work for anyone else?

It is recommended that fast-forwarding now commences through the
restaurant scene, pausing only to check out Rick's dimple(s) &
wink from the bar. Now we are at the Tony Bennett impersonator
scene, which in theory is really cute and I'd melt if my husband
ever found a Rick impersonator to sing outside my bedroom window.
However, this guy looks more like Casey Kasem rather than Tony
Bennett-good thing he sounds close. Should we be worried that
Jamie/Rick knows the words to "I left my heart in San
Francisco" considering the contempt with which he spit out the
name Tony Bennett at the restaurant?

Ahh..the "butt scene". The pinnacle of the flick for all
Rick fans. Watching this frame by frame causes you to notice there
is a pimple on his shoulder (makeup! What happened to the makeup? I
guess he was truly au' naturel) which of course if you are watching
this at normal speed, Rick doesn't even have shoulders that you are
aware of. How that woman could throw him out of her house, let alone
her bed is beyond me. She obviously needs therapy herself. The next
thing that bugs me is the left-handed rock throw by Rick.
Left-handed? He's ambidextrous! Oooh...she REALLY made a mistake
giving him the boot. Imagine the possibilities of Rick being just as
good with the left hand as well as the right... (pausing for a drink
of water here) Oh, and then the rock makes a perfect circle in the
window? Whatever. I'm still stuck on the fact that she's a
"realistic" idiot.

Now, Jamie with Nikki playing pool. This scene was hotter than the
aforementioned butt scene, but without the butt. This time we get to
see Rick in an open shirt! Yippee! Chest hair. I've always wanted to
take a bite out of his chin also after watching this scene. Maybe
not, I could get escorted to the door too. Fashion alert here!
Rick's pants are tucked into the boots he is wearing, didn't notice
that before. Next we get to see Jamie & Diana's
"non-date". I call it a non-date, because he met her at
the restaurant, then they argued as they walked down the street
about him being a "star", he kisses her to shut her up,
then it is suggested that they will have sex again. I know that this
is *our* version of the perfect date with Rick Springfield, but gee
-doesn't the man need to eat sometime to replenish all this spent
energy?

Next fashion alert- the sailor uniform. Good thing
the wardrobe people went for the dress whites, and not the goofy
bell bottoms with the white hat. That could have been a whole
different scene entirely. The way Rick delivers the line, "You
told me you liked sailors" is worth a replay or two. Made me
all dewy-eyed & breathless. :-) The best part about the next
scene involving Diana's father in the bar is Rick delivering the
next dewy-eyed & breathless line, "I know how to make you
feel better -give me a shot". Jell-O. My legs now feel like
Jell-O. Ok, so two more "dates" with Jamie Roberts with a
lot of kissing & heaving petting. Obviously Diana just looks a
lot older than she really is.
Resume fast forwarding through the herpes joke/toy boat scene. Does
nothing for the plot but introduce us to a sober Diana's father (of
course he's playing with a toy boat, how sober is he?). On to a
scene with Nikki & Jamie again, this time they are having a
no-sense argument on the balcony of the hotel room. Back to the
recording studio, Jamie is now wearing the same clothes from the
"boating expedition". Can you say sucky editing??
Obviously not yet, because now Jamie & Diana are going running.
More spent energy, this time in a less recreational activity.

Aha! Finally, the man is exhausted in the next scene because he's
sleeping through a din so loud it is incredulous. Diana, showing her
true maturity here molests him while he is unconscious-right in
plain view of the street. Hey Lady, shove some food in his mouth,
will ya? I see where this relationship is going way before the
writers here, because obviously if they are not screwing he is
bored. Good thing he stored up some energy though, because now we've
hit the chase scene of the movie. Most big budget flicks have a
chase scene that involves cars of some sort. You can tell the budget
of this movie because the chase scene involves people on foot. I'm
not sure about this either (it was hard to tell with the lighting-it
was night) but I think it's some of the same girls from the famous
towel scene. I know you can't tell from the scenes we've been
through so far, but it obviously doesn't take much to turn Diana on.
Running uphill (or should I say dragged?) through the streets of San
Francisco has always been a favorite part of foreplay for me. NOT.
So off to the hotel we go...

Believe it or not, this is a suggested fast-forward scene. You see
more of Diana then Jamie, they look like they are sunburned because
the lighting is so red, and then he whispers "I love you"
to her. If you do watch this one though and do not need a barf bag,
then you are to be commended. Obviously she is pissed off in the
next scene that Casserole interrupted them, but for some reason
feels the need to take it out on Nikki. Fast-forward again through
this next scene, really you won't miss much. Just make sure to stop
when the "knife" turns out to be a comb - so you can see
on the wall above Nikki's bed all the pictures taped up there of her
and Jamie. (I always wondered about those shots that showed up in
the magazines when the movie was released -there they are!) Now that
Diana has clocked Nikki, you think she'd feel a bit better. Nope,
she's mad a Jamie now. He's chasing her and she's yelling that they
don't make any sense. Finally! I've been muttering that to myself
since the butt scene. It sure would have been a much shorter movie
if they had had a one night stand.

Jamie is now going to can Nikki from the band-which is what their
scenes consisted of since we first saw her. You have permission to
fast-forward again, only stopping after the guitar has been smashed
by Jamie, so you can hear Nikki threaten to kick his ass. He asks
why women are always telling him that. (Huh?) Anyway, she tells him
it's because he's got the cutest one in the business. Ain't that
right sista!

Now we are on to the famous getting coffee scene. We've had this
discussion here before, no sense me rehashing it now. So now the Dad
has died, Diana can't turn to Jamie for comfort, yadda yadda. The
best part of the scene of Jamie & Diana strolling in the park is
the wardrobe, so you can fast forward here, it makes no sense
really. I stopped long enough to listen to Jamie tell Diana "If
you're too scared to take a chance then I don't want it" only
to check if he hits her this time. Nope, just the bench again. Damn,
I keep wishing he'd just hit her instead. It'd give me some relief.

End of the movie, Jamie in concert. Love the outfit. Love Love
Somebody (oh, spell check didn't like that sentence). What I also
love is that Jamie leaves after an extremely short concert, he's not
even sweating. Oh wait, now he is sweaty with wet hair when he's
telling Owen off outside. Race to the airport in Casserole's car
again, dry hair back on the head. They meet at the airport, she was
coming back because she finally wizened up that she wasn't gonna get
better sex in Europe -they kiss - the End. - Michelle P.